Producing reinforced conduits



Ap 2 1942- v E. MGEHLEck 2,280,252

PRODUCING REINFORCED CQNDU IT Filed July 4, 1939 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS structure.

Patented Apr. 2-1, 1942 OFFICE PRODUCING REINFORCED CONDUITS Ernest Muehleck, Rydal, Pa.,

' &. Mattiso 11 Company, Ambler, Pa., tion of Pennsylvania assignor to Keasbey a corpora- Application July 4, 1939, Serial No. 282,831

f 4 Claim.

This invention relates to the reinforcement of pipes or conduits fabricated of cement and fiber composition, and particularly to such pipes and conduits built up of layers of such composition in plastic form and thereafter hardened by setting of the cement.

The object of the invention is to produce a pipe or conduit of accumulated fiber-cement lay ers with an intermediate reinforcement embedded in the structure between the inner and" outer layers.

Further objects of the invention relating to the details of the procedure and to the particular mechanism provided to preform the reinforcement and feed it between the layers of the pipe or conduit structure will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the series of operations accumulating the layers of fiber-cement with the reinforcements interposed between them;

, Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on enlarged scale taken approximately on the line 2- -2 Fig. 3 is a partial diagrammatic view of a modified form of reinforcement supply means;

Figs. 4 and 5 are partial sectional views of conduit structures illustrating different forms of reinforcement;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a further modification;

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view of a conduit structure illustrating a further modification of the reinforcement;

Fig. 8 is a perspective'view of a portion of a conduit illustrating another type of reinforcement; and

Fig. 9 is a sectionalview of a conduit structure illustrating a modified, form of cylindrical reinforcement having overlapping interlocked ends.

.The diagrammatic showing of Fig. 1 illustrates the formation of a fiber-cement pipe structure in accordance with the processes disclosed in Rocca Patents 1,871,917 of August 16, 1932 and 2,022,009 of November 26, 1935 for the formation of fiber-cement pipes or conduits by spirally winding accumulated layers of the composition in plastic form. A mandrel I0 moving from left to right receives overlapping layers of fiber-cement film from the supply belts II and I2 forming the inner portion l3- of the pipe or conduit The formation of the inner accumulated laypozzuolanic cements, calcareous hydraulic ce-'- strip supplied from ers of the structure is under pressure of the film supply means, and this compacted layer is then supplied with a winding of reinforcing wire I4 as the mandrel ill with its accumulated layer 13 rotates and moves to theright to receive the accumulation of outer layers ll of fiber-cement from the supply belts l5 and I6 completing the pipe or conduit structure and embedding the reinforcement 14 between the inner and outer accumulations; I

In the specific exampleillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the reinforcing wire it is a flat ribbon-like the reel 20 to the swaging or bending rolls 2|, 22 which pinch the wire to slightly less thickness along one edgeand, so cause it to curve into helical convolutions following generally the contour of the guide tube 23 mounted on supporting bracket 24 and leading the flat swaged wire to the periphery of the inner conduit layer l3 as illustrated more in detail "in Fig. 2. In this way the flat wire is wrapped in helical form feed of the wire It being accurately controlled to correspond closely to the peripheral speed of out of the machine and is removed. The reinforced pipe structure is then stripped from the mandrel Ill and after pressing between an inner re-inserted mandrel and an outer cylindrical die is permanently hardened by setting of the ce' ment.

The fibrous material may be asbestos, slag, wool, or the like. and the cement may be Portland cement or other binders of calcareous cement. such as hydraulic lime, natural cement,

ment, or the like, and the Portland or other cement may be mixed with siliceous materials, such as quartz, quartzite, siliceous sand and shingle, sandstone granites, natural and artificial pozzuolana, trass, slags, and the like. The pressure during the accumulation of successive layers in the final completed construction compacts the fibrous and cementitious material strongly to-' gether and snugly embeds the reinforcement in place to give a very intimate adhesion between all of the elements of the structure.

In Fig. 3 a modification is illustrated in which the reinforcement winding mechanism is mount- 7 around the inner layer l3 and slightly embedded therein, the rate of.

to receive the outer layer I! from the lock the ends ll, 42 together.

ed on a rotary housing 30 turning on an axis corresponding to that of the mandrel Ill and adapted to rotate in a direction either opposite to the rotation of the mandrel or in the same direction. This rotatable housing 30 carries the supply reel bending or .swaging rollers 2|, 22 and the reinforcement guide 23, and when it is rotated -in a direction opposite to that of the mandrel to housing may be provided rotating in opposite directions as indicated in Fig. 6 and laying down two reinforcements, H and H", one within the other, as illustrated in Fig, '7, the relative pitches of these reinforcements being controlled to give any desired lead of the one over'the other.

As illustrated in Fig. 8 longitudinal reinforcing strands may be provided, for instance, by a supply housing positioned in the space between the belts l2 and I5 and turning at the same speed as the mandrel l0 and carrying supply reels, one for each longitudinal rod 35, and

having guides feeding these strands on to the surface of the accumulated inner layer l3. These longitudinal strands are guided to be held to the surface of the inner layer and slightly impressed therein-and fed into the space within the'outer accumulating belts l5 and It so that the outer layers I? are wrapped over the longitudinal strands which are thus embedded in place be tween the outer and inner sheaths of the-pipe or conduit.

Instead of feeding the intermediate reinforcement into place helically or longitudinally, aspreviously described, circular or cylindrical reinforcement may be applied to the inner layer 13 between the first and second series of ac-- cumulating belts. For instance, as illustrated in Fig. 8, circular bands 40 of perforated metallic tape may be sprung around the inner sheath .I3

with overlapping ends ll, 42 snugly hugging and indenting outer layer l'l so that when these layers are sub :Iected to radial pressure in the final pressing operation the fiber-cement composition will protrude through the perforations of the bands and If desired a large inte a1 my be left between the inner accumulating stage and outer stage so that between these the inner sheath it maybe enclosed within a complete cylinder 45 of openwork material corresponding substantially to the length of the final pipe or conduit section, the ends of the cylinder overlapped and interthe inner layer and receiving the locked by opposite projections 46 and 41. entire inner structure then continues on to the final accumulating. belts l5 and I6 superposing the outer layer l1 and completing the structure.

Instead of a fiat wire H round wire or other form of wire may be substituted by correspondingly changing the swaging roll set-up to a roll combination including a three roll bending operation imparting a helical form to the wire so that 11700115 in place around the inner plastic cylinder IS. The invention is not confined to the specific embodiments shown but is intended to include such equivalents thereof as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A process for production of a reinforced pipe or conduit of fiber cement composition comprising accumulating successive layers of an unset plastic fiber cement composition to build up a pipe or conduit into a plastic cylinder, shaping a metallic wire or strand into the formof a helix independent of the pipe or conduit and adapted to fit the'surface thereof, and feeding said helix on to the plastic cylinder while the latter is in a' F- plastic condition by flexing the coils of. the helix of unset plastic fiber cement composition to build up a pipe or conduit into a plastic cylinder of indefinite length, simultaneously and continuously shaping a metallic wire or strand into the form of a helix independent of the pipe or conduit and of indefinite length and adapted to fit the surface of the plastic cylinder, and continuously feeding said helix on to the plastic cylinder during the formation of the latter and while it is in a plastic conditionby flexing the coils of the helix within their elastic limit and permitting them to reflex into engagement with the surface of said cylinder.

4. The process as set forth in claim 3 in which the application of the reinforcement is accompanied by continuous accumulation 'on the periphery of said inner cylinder and reinforcement of. additional outer layers of fiber cement composition so'that the reinforcement as it is ap- 4 plied is continuously embedded'between the inner and outer portionsof the pipe or conduit in plastic condition simultaneously with the formstion of said inner and outer portions.

I ERNEST MUEHLECK.

conduit in plastic 

